Object Attachment

Abstract: This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process--a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the development of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy--secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent--and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. Implications for theories of romantic love are discussed, as are measurement problems and other issues related to future tests of the attachment perspective.

Abstract: A new 4-group model of attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. Four prototypic attachment patterns are defined using combinations of a person's self-image (positive or negative) and image of others (positive or negative). In Study 1, an interview was developed to yield continuous and categorical ratings of the 4 attachment styles. Intercorrelations of the attachment ratings were consistent with the proposed model. Attachment ratings were validated by self-report measures of self-concept and interpersonal functioning. Each style was associated with a distinct profile of interpersonal problems, according to both self- and friend-reports. In Study 2, attachment styles within the family of origin and with peers were assessed independently. Results of Study 1 were replicated. The proposed model was shown to be applicable to representations of family relations; Ss' attachment styles with peers were correlated with family attachment ratings.

Abstract: Part 1. Overview of Attachment Theory. Cassidy, The Nature of the Child's Ties. Kobak, Madsen, Disruptions in Attachment Bonds: Implications for Theory, Research, and Clinical Intervention. Shaver, Fraley, Attachment, Loss, and Grief: Bowlby's Views and Current Controversies. Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, Individual Differences in Infant-caregiver Attachment: Conceptual and Empirical Aspects of Security. Bretherton, Munholland, Internal Working Models in Attachment Relationships: Elaborating a Central Construct in Attachment Theory. Part 2. Biological Perspectives. Simpson, Belsky, Attachment Theory within a Modern Evolutionary Framework. Polan, Hofer, Psychobiological Origins of Infant Attachment and Its Role in Development. Suomi, Attachment in Rhesus Monkeys. Vaughn, Bost, van IJzendoorn, Attachment and Temperament: Additive and Interactive Influences on Behavior, Affect, and Cognition During Infancy and Childhood. Fox, Hane, Studying the Biology of Human Attachment. Coan, Toward a Neuroscience of Attachment. Part 3. Attachment in Infancy and Childhood. Marvin, Britner, Normative Development: The Ontogeny of Attachment. Belsky, Fearon, Precursors of Attachment Security. Howes, Spieker, Attachment Relationships in the Context of Multiple Caregivers. Berlin, Cassidy, Appleyard, The Influence of Early Attachments on Other Relationships. Thompson, Early Attachment and Later Development: Familiar Questions, New Answers. Kerns, Attachment in Middle Childhood. Solomon, George, The Measurement of Attachment Security in Infancy and Early Childhood. Part 4. Attachment in Adolescence and Adulthood. Allen, The Attachment System in Adolescence. Zeifman, Hazan, Pair Bonds as Attachments: Reevaluating the Evidence. Feeney, Adult Romantic Attachment: Developments in the Study of Couple Relationships. Mohr, Same-sex Romantic Attachment. Mikulincer, Shaver, Adult Attachment and Affect Regulation. Magai, Attachment in Middle and Later Life. Hesse, The Adult Attachment Interview: Protocol, Method of Analysis, and Empirical Studies. Crowell, Fraley, Shaver, Measurement of Individual Differences in Adolescent and Adult Attachment. Part 5. Psychopathology and Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory and Research. DeKlyen, Greenberg, Attachment and Psychopathology in Childhood. Lyons-Ruth, Jacobvitz, Attachment Disorganization: Genetic Factors, Parenting Contexts, and Developmental Transformation from Infancy to Adulthood. Dozier, Rutter, Challenges to the Development of Attachment Relationships Faced by Young Children in Foster and Adoptive Care. Dozier, Stovall-McClough, Albus, Attachment and Psychopathology in Adulthood. Berlin, Zeanah, Lieberman, Prevention and Intervention Programs for Supporting Early Attachment Security. Slade, The Implications of Attachment Theory and Research for Adult Psychotherapy: Research and Clinical Perspectives. Fonagy, Gergely, Target, Psychoanalytic Theory from the Viewpoint of Attachment Theory and Research. Johnson, Couple and Family Therapy: An Attachment Perspective. Part 6. Systems, Culture, and Context. George, Solomon, The Caregiving System: A Behavioral Systems Approach to Parenting. K. Grossmann, K. E. Grossmann, Kindler, Zimmermann, A Wider View of Attachment and Exploration: The Influence of Mothers and Fathers on the Development of Psychological Security from Infancy to Young Adulthood. van IJzendoorn, Sagi-Schwartz, Cross-Cultural Patterns of Attachment: Universal and Contextual Dimensions. Granqvist, Kirkpatrick, Attachment and Religious Representations and Behavior. Feeney, Monin, An Attachment-Theoretical Perspective on Divorce. Rutter, Implications of Attachment Theory and Research for Child Care Policy.

Abstract: Self-report measures of adult attachment are typically scored in ways (e.g., averaging or summing items) that can lead to erroneous inferences about important theoretical issues, such as the degree of continuity in attachment security and the differential stability of insecure attachment patterns. To determine whether existing attachment scales suffer from scaling problems, the authors conducted an item response theory (IRT) analysis of 4 commonly used self-report inventories: Experiences in Close Relationships scales (K. A. Brennan, C. L. Clark, & P. R. Shaver, 1998), Adult Attachment Scales (N. L. Collins & S. J. Read, 1990), Relationship Styles Questionnaire (D. W. Griffin & K. Bartholomew, 1994) and J. Simpson's (1990) attachment scales. Data from 1,085 individuals were analyzed using F. Samejima's (1969) graded response model. The authors' findings indicate that commonly used attachment scales can be improved in a number of important ways. Accordingly, the authors show how IRT techniques can be used to develop new attachment scales with desirable psychometric properties.